Ripples of excitement

Scheduled for launch next year is the European Space Agency’s
LISA pathfinder spacecraft, which will test instruments vital for the operation of a gravitational wave observatory called eLISA that is planned for the future. Described as ‘ripples in spacetime’, these waves are formed in major events such as the merger of two neutron stars, so detecting them would offer a new approach for studying the universe and a host of phenomena.

The winds of change

Keep a weather eye on the ESA next year as it is planning to launch ADM-Aeolus, a satellite that will monitor winds around the globe. The data it collects is expected to improve our understanding of weather systems and the factors that influence them, as well as boosting our forecasting prowess through better models.

Mars bar set very high

The ambitious
Mars One mission will be pressing on towards its goal to colonise the red planet, with second-round interviews for hopeful astronauts taking place this month and further rounds scheduled for the coming year. Once selected, the successful candidates will begin their training towards the end of 2015. They will kick off in a “Mars-like terrain” to prepare them for the inevitable isolation of the long-awaited pioneering mission.

Access all arias

Soprano Sarah Brightman is on a
mission of her own to become the first pro to warble in space. She’s expecting to make the journey to the ISS in October for a 10-day visit that is thought to cost £31m. Lady Gaga
was hoping to snaffle the title by getting up a gig on board a Virgin Galactic ship – although her plans are now unclear following the SpaceShipTwo tragedy.

Enter the void for an asteroid

Nasa’s Dawn spacecraft is also worth keeping tabs on. Launched in 2007, it
completed its mission to orbit the giant asteroid, Vesta, in 2011, capturing breathtaking images in the process. It’s now on its way to the chunkiest entity in the asteroid belt, Ceres, which it will start studying in the spring.

Rocket salad, anyone?

Winners of the UK Space Agency’s Great British Space Dinner competition will see their recipes reach new heights in 2015. The culinary inventions by children, which include a three-course lolly, will be turned into space food by Heston Blumenthal and eaten by British astronaut Tim Peake when he begins his stint on board the ISS.

Shoots for the moon

Nasa is also shooting for the Moon in 2015: the space agency is planning to
send plant seeds there on board missions that could include one or more of the Lunar XPrize contenders. Housed in a sealed environment, the experiments will explore whether seeds can successfully germinate when exposed to the gravity and radiation environment of the Moon. This will be an important consideration should we ever plan to colonise our satellite.

Discovering Pluto’s story

Having just ‘woken up’ from hibernation, Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft, launched in 2006, will undertake an exploration of Pluto and its moons from January. Among its goals, the mission aims to suss out the atmosphere of the dwarf planet (when it was launched Pluto was classified as a full planet, but its status has been changed), shed light on the nature of its surface and hunt for undiscovered satellites. Its closest approach to Pluto will take place on 14 July.

Twins have starry future

Blasting off for a 12-month stint on board the ISS in the spring is Nasa’s Scott Kelly (in the glasses, above), who is aiming to smash the record for the longest time an American astronaut has spent, non-stop, up in space. His identical twin Mark – also an astronaut, albeit retired – will keep his feet on terra firma, allowing Nasa to
compare the effects of weightlessness on various aspects of the human body, from the immune system to gut bacteria.

Race of the lunar rovers

Getting to the Moon on a shoestring might seem ambitious, but with the
Google Lunar XPrize deadline fixed for December next year, the precedent could very soon be set. Eighteen teams from around the world will be battling it out to scoop the $20m grand prize on offer. To win they must be the first to park their rover on the Moon, shift it 500 metres and send video back to us Earth-bound onlookers.